At the October 22 OHIO home football game, Campus Recycling and its partners encourage Bobcat fans to show their true green pride by participating in the GameDay Challenge, making an effort to properly dispose of all waste created, and encouraging others to do the same. Each fall, colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada compete in the GameDay Recycling Challenge, a recycling and waste reduction competition to minimize waste generated during a single sporting event.
Ohio University is a four-time national champion, earning the diversion rate champion title for football in 2016 and 2022, and basketball in 2017 and 2018. Over multiple years, Ohio University accomplished rescuing approximately 95 percent of all material from the landfill by placing zero waste stations that include recycling and compost options in and around Peden Stadium. OHIO is proud to continue its nationally recognized efforts and hopes win the title again this year at the Oct. 22 home football game.
Over 50 participating schools monitor and collect data on all waste produced from the sporting events, including both within the stadium, and outside at various tailgating, team meals and promotional activities. Schools keep track of waste disposal in all three categories—recycling, compost and landfill—then report these numbers to competition officials.
Conference champions are given one of five titles—champion of recycling, waste minimization, greenhouse gas reduction, organics reduction and conference diversion rate. There is friendly yet intense competition in the MAC for each of these titles. “In recent years, along with OHIO, Akron, Kent, Northern Illinois and Toledo have all made their way to the top spot in various categories,” said OHIO Recycling and Zero Waste Manager Andrew Ladd. “Ultimately though, we build upon one another’s successes to educate and engage with fans about the importance of our individual choices and about how together we can affect significant positive change for our world and our climate.”